


Ten Years

by kunoichihatake



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kunoichihatake/pseuds/kunoichihatake
Summary: A summary of ten years of friendship -- and maybe more -- between the reader and Kiba Inuzuka.
Relationships: Inuzuka Kiba/Reader
Kudos: 34





	Ten Years

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: “Kiba x kunoichi reader, friends to lovers”  
> As always, if you have requests, head over to my tumblr (@kunoichihatake) and shoot me an ask if my requests are open (: I will be hosting a 500 followers celebration this coming weekend (July 10, 2020-July 12, 2020) so come join the party!

You were only five years old when you first met Kiba Inuzuka. It was your first day at the Academy, and you knew no one -- growing up on the outskirts of the village meant that you didn’t get to play with other children often, so it was no surprise to you when you walked into your classroom to see only unfamiliar faces. You took a seat near the middle of the room -- the place where you’d be most invisible, like you had been all your life. It wasn’t sad or anything, not to you; you were simply good at disappearing into the scenery.

“Hey, can I sit here?” A boy walked up to you, pointing to the seat next to yours. He had red face paint that resembled fangs on his cheeks, narrow black eyes, and messy brown hair. A tiny white dog sat atop his head. You nodded, and he sat down next to you. “I’m Kiba, and this is Akamaru.”

“I’m Y/n,” you said. You stared at Akamaru. “Can I...pet your dog?” Kiba smiled, looking up toward Akamaru.

“Yeah. He’s gentle, don’t worry.” You smiled, timidly reaching your hand up to place on the dog’s head. You petted the dog gently, and it stirred once before snuggling into Kiba’s head further.

“His fur is so soft,” you remarked, running your hand across the dog’s back. Kiba beamed.

“We Inuzukas take good care of our dogs,” he said pridefully. You nodded again, and smiled as Akamaru leaned into your touch.  _ Not bad for my first friend. _

* * *

“Kiba!” you shouted. The brunette turned around from where he was playing with some other boys on the playground and stared at you.

“Oh hey, Y/n,” he said, sheepishly. You placed your hands on your hips.

“Did you forget we have school today? Iruka-sensei is going to be mad that you cut class.”

Kiba shrugged. “I’m not suited for sitting at a desk all day. I need action!” Akamaru barked in agreement. You sighed, giving him a disapproving look. Kiba jogged over to you, stopping a few feet in front of you, as the other boys played behind him. “You should go back to the Academy,” he said, and you could see concern in his eyes. “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”  
“Don’t you care about getting in trouble yourself?” you asked, exasperated. Kiba only shrugged.

“Not really. I’ll be fine.” He gave you a toothy grin. “Now go on, and make sure you tell me how angry Iruka-sensei looks when he notices we’re all missing.” You gave him one last disappointed look before turning on your heel, running back to the Academy with your face burning.

“Women are such a drag, even at our age,” you heard one of Kiba’s friends complain before you were out of earshot.  _ A drag, huh?  _ you thought.  _ Good to know _ .

You were able to avoid Iruka’s wrath over you showing up to class twenty minutes late by telling him about the four boys cutting class on the playground. He declared it a free period for everyone and went after the boys, his face as red as a tomato. You kept your eyes glued on the floor as you took your seat, feeling embarrassed about what had just gone down.  _ Great, now everyone thinks I’m tardy  _ and _ a tattletale.  _ You spent the free period studying at your desk quietly as the other students chatted with friends, just waiting for the day to end. You couldn’t get what Kiba’s friend had said out of your mind:  _ “women are such a drag.” _ Is that how Kiba felt? Were you even friends? A hot tear fell on the page of your book, leaving a round wet spot, and you wiped your eyes, trying to hide your tears from the other students.

Soon, Iruka had dragged the four boys back into class, and Kiba took his normal spot beside you, lounging back in his chair. You kept your eyes fixed forward, not daring to look at him so he wouldn’t see how red your face was, nor the tears that you kept trying to blink away.

Once class ended, you headed out of the classroom as quickly as you could, hearing Kiba shout your name as he chased after you. It wasn’t too long before he caught up, grabbing your shoulder to turn your face to his. 

“Y/n, what’s wrong?” he asked. His eyes were full of genuine concern, and you knew he didn’t understand why you were so upset. You sniffled.

“Do you think women are ‘such a drag’ too, Kiba?” you asked, your gaze falling to your shoes.

“What? Of course not,” he said. “Some of my favorite people are women!” You looked up at him again.

“But your friend said that, and you didn’t want me to stay with you and your friends today, so…” your voice trailed off. Kiba stared at you.

“I told you to leave so you wouldn’t get in trouble. You’re way smarter than I am, I don’t want Iruka-sensei to think you’re a bad kid.” He paused. “And I don’t think you’re a drag. You’re my best friend.” You looked up at him, surprised.

“What about the other boys?” He shrugged.

“I mean, they’re cool, but you’re my best friend of all.” You smiled at him.

“You’re my best friend, too.”

* * *

“Team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Y/n L/n.” Your heart soared.  _ I get to be on a genin squad with my best friend! _

“Yes!” Kiba said, turning to you. The two of you smiled at each other, and all of the anxiety you had about genin squad placements had faded away. You had worried about being apart from Kiba, your best -- and for the most part, only -- friend for the past seven years, but the news that the two of you were to be on a squad together made you want to leap with joy.

Your last class session with Iruka-sensei let out, and you and Kiba agreed to get ramen to celebrate graduating from the Academy and starting a new journey as genin squad members together. The two of you sat side by side at Ichiraku, talking and joking for hours, until night fell and you had to head home. For hours after you turned out the lights, you couldn’t sleep, too excited about what the next day would bring.

* * *

“Hey, what do you think of Tenten?” Kiba asked. The two of you had just left the second round of your first chunin exams, and were on the way to get some dango to make up for the fact that you both lost your matches and wouldn’t be proceeding to the next stage. You had been disappointed at first that you lost, but after seeing Kiba lose his hard-fought battle as well, you felt a bit better. Both of you were up against formidable opponents, you had to admit; and though you hadn’t passed this time, you knew much better what to expect for your next go at the exams.  _ Next time, we’ll pass and become chunin together _ , you had thought as you and Kiba walked away from the battle complex.

“What do I think of Tenten?” you replied, surprised. “She seemed cool, I guess.” You didn’t know anything about Tenten other than that she had fought against the girl from the Sand Village -- Temari, you believed her name was. Tenten had put up a good battle with her weapons skills, but had ultimately lost to Temari and her giant fan.

“She was super cool,” Kiba said, his cheeks growing slightly red. “Her weapons skills were amazing. And she was kind of cute, too.” You felt like you had been stabbed through the chest. 

“What, do you have a crush on her or something?” you snapped, shocked at your sudden change of character. Kiba looked surprised too, and stared at you, his mouth wide open.  _ Why am I so upset?  _ you thought to yourself, but couldn’t think of an answer. Your face burned as you spoke again. “If you like Tenten so much, why don’t you get dango with her instead?” you spat, stomping off. 

“Y/n!” Kiba ran to you and placed a hand on your shoulder, but you shrugged it off. 

“Just leave me alone,” you said quietly, and he let you walk away, your eyes never looking up from the ground.

* * *

“Are you avoiding me again?” You looked up from your book to see Kiba standing in front of you, hands on his hips. He seemed to tower over you and you sat on the tree stump, making you crane your neck to look at him. You tugged at your chunin jacket -- you had just been promoted along with Kiba and Shino, and were getting used to not only the extra responsibilities, but the feeling that people were looking up to you now. You had gotten used to hiding behind the scenes, but now you were being asked to lead missions, and it all felt dizzying.

You stared blankly at Kiba. “Why would I be avoiding you? And what do you mean, again?” You were, in fact, avoiding him; and having been your best friend of nearly ten years, you knew he’d be on to you quickly enough. You couldn’t help it, though; not after what had happened yesterday.

_ “I’ll take first watch,” Kiba said. He had been placed in charge of this mission, and he definitely acted the part -- maybe a little too much. “Ino will take second watch, and Y/n will take third.” You and Ino nodded, and Kiba darted away from the campsite. _

_ Ino smirked at you. “So, when are you going to tell him about your feelings?” You stared at her, dumbstruck. _

_ “What feelings?” She sighed. _

_ “Come on, Y/n,” she said, giving you a knowing look. “Practically everyone in the village knows you and Kiba have crushes on each other. Just go on a date already.” She turned around, rolling out her bedding, while you stood there, dumbfounded.  _ Kiba has feelings for me?  _ You thought.  _ Do I have feelings for him?  _ You barely slept a wink that night, the realization keeping you awake.  _ I like Kiba. Oh my god, I like Kiba.

“I don’t know why you’d be avoiding me,” he said, “but you are. We’ve been best friends for almost ten years, Y/n, I can tell when you’re avoiding me.” You chewed on your lip. “So what’s wrong?”

You picked at a spot on your pants.  _ It’s now or never _ . “Kiba...I….”  _ What if I ruin our friendship? _ The thought rushed into your mind, interrupting your speech.  _ What if he doesn’t have feelings for me, and he never wants to talk to me again? _ Your face grew red, and you felt a strong urge to disappear in that moment.

The two of you sat in silence for a moment before Kiba spoke up. “I overheard you and Ino talking last night,” he said quietly, and you felt a jolt run through your heart, as if someone had stabbed you in the chest. “She wasn’t being as quiet as she thought.” He laughed nervously before continuing. “Anyway, uh, Ino was right. I do have feelings for you.” You turned your head up to look Kiba in the eye, almost expecting him to laugh it off as a joke, but his face was dead serious.

“Kiba, I...I have feelings for you, too,” you said, your voice so small even you could barely hear it. Kiba heard you, though, and grinned brightly.

“Good,” he said, and Akamaru barked in agreeance behind him. “So I can finally ask you on that first date?” You smiled at him, nodding.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you said. Kiba held his hand out to help you up and you took it, giving it a gentle squeeze. The two of you completed your mission with a renewed energy, and soon enough you were walking back into the village, hand in hand, while Ino smirked behind you, whispering “I told you so.”


End file.
